The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1887-07-30

Mr.. Edward King show. in his verse the
valorous and baneful spirit of the early
Troubadours. Natural, vivid, full of un-
studied dramatic energy and picturesque col
or, his poetry moves with enyiable freedom
from the trammels of introspection and
bonds of vague involutions by which the
force of modern poetry is too often hindered.
One would believe that Mr. King writes as
he fights; and this clear ring of manly metal
enlists the reader at once in the favor of the
author of A Venetian Lover. Nondon: Ke-
gan, Paul, French & Co. Paternoster Square,
The plot of this romance in verse is simple,
not especially noteworthy, but sufficient to
carry the varied and interesting verse. Some
times the rounded measures of blank verse
find little difficulty in adapting themselves
to the utterances of the men of business from
the far west, who are father and luckless
lover of the heroine; but in other passages
metre and theme harmonic excellently. The
narrative is full of wealth of Illustration,
and moves neither hastily nor languidly. In
some of the incidental songs. Mr. King is
very fortunate in atmosphere and music.
Life, if Death prove not dream" is an
exquisite logic; and in vivid contrast is the
song "Oh Emperor! Great Emperor which
has the sharp pathos of Servian or Bosnian
ballad, rather than the softer grace of We
netian verse. Although the song of Captain
Loredan contains some strong lines it gives
reason to warn Mr.. King that assonance
must not be over strained, unless one is writ
ing Gilbert and Sullivan libretto. With
the dignified history of the days of the Doges
of Venice it is impossible to associate such
jingling praise of hero as:
SO through the ships the story ran
And DER the seas The glory ran
The story of
The glory OF
Victorious great Loredan
One is tempted to substitute the name of
Captain Corcoran
The lines upon Dante are noble, and in
spired by fine recognition of the sweetness
and courageous manhood of the Hottest of
poets" The song, "Oh, Love, my love is
like springing fame" is admirably de-
signed; love song, apparently modelled
upon the fervid canticles of medieval Ital-
ian mystics, it is supposed to be read be-
tween the lines of a breviary To sum in
brief the qualities of Mr.. Kings romantic
poem-the sincerity and fire, the natural har-
mony and unstrained flow of his verse prove
him to deserve the name of poet, while in
the last graces Of technical finish his gift
leaves somewhat to be desired and acquired
Colonial Ballads, Sonnets and other Verse.
BY Margaret j. Preston. Boston and New
York: Houghton, Mifflin & Co.. Portland:
Loring, Short & Harmony The poetic quail
ty of Mrs. Preston's mind seems to express
itself with peculiar aptness in the sonnet
FORM clear, restrained and earnest in feeling,
the slight austerity and generalization of the
sonnet is with her no hindrance to express
sion. The music of her verse is graceful
and unaffected, satisfying rather than en-
rapturing the ear of the reader Among
choice examples Of her sonnet work may be
named Keatss Greek Urn, delicate in fancy
and expression; Altar of Roses, itself con-
densed fragrance Of Imagination, and the
characteristic and graceful invocation which
the poetess addresses to her Muse. The Co.
lonial ballads are less successful; and the
cause may be manifold and no fault of Mrs.
Preston's art Possibly the days of the bal
lad are past; the direct appeal to primitive
sentiment, which is the soul of the ballad,
necessitates terse manner of bold imagery
and simple passion quite removed from the
present age Of subtle, intricate thought. The
strength of Mrs. Preston's poetic gift is not
in its impulse, lyric or dramatic; but rather
in fine and elevated mental fervor. Her
art is literary and often pictorial, but rarely
shows the quality that sings itself, inhabit-
ing the ear and memory. Among the bal
lads may be chosen for especial praise the
exquisite idyl Doris Spinning, a dainty
song of girlhood and summer. The Silent
Tryst and A Belle of Praenste are in Mrs
Preston's best vein, thoughtful, with anIun-
dertone OF genuine feeling, the latter poem
rising to an exceedingly noble strain of inn
agination. The Threnody, written upon the
death of the poet Paul N. Hayne, is stately,
sincere and picturesque. Medallion Heads
is an interesting group of portrait sonnets of
women made immortal by the great masters
of painting. Mrs. Preston's volume is to be
sincerely commended to lovers of refined and